Related Practices

A recent analysis by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (“COGCC”) shows that increasing the current regulatory setback of 500 feet to the 2500-foot setback proposed in Initiative # 97 would prevent oil and gas development on 85% of the non-federal land surface in the state.

On Wednesday, July 18, 2018, Governor Hickenlooper of Colorado issued an Executive Order directing the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission (COGCC) to act to “plug, remediate, and reclaim” orphaned oil and gas wells and sites. Of the over 50,000 oil and gas wells in the state, the COGCC is currently tracking 262 orphaned wells and 373 associated well sites that require remediation and reclamation.

On March 22, 2018, the Colorado Court of Appeals held that the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s authority to undertake unannounced, warrantless inspections (i.e., administrative searches) at oil and gas sites does NOT violate the U.S. or Colorado constitutions.

ConAgra Foods, Inc. and ConAgra Grocery Products, LLC, have agreed to settle alleged violations of the Clean Water Act’s Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) requirements and the Facility Response Plan (FRP) regulations. The violations were identified by EPA Region 4 during an October 2007 inspection at ConAgra’s plant in Memphis, Tennessee, that refines crude vegetable oil into cooking oils for consumer and commercial use.